Dispatches From The Picket Lines: Game Show Day With Mikey Day In Busy New York; L.A. Sees Action At Amazon, Fox

With “Mics up!” as their rallying cry, fiction podcasters walked a Writers Guild picket line Tuesday outside Amazon’s offices in New York City to spotlight their efforts to unionize. 

This is Day 94 of the WGA strike and Day 21 of the SAG-AFTRA strike

Joe Otterson TV Reporter SAG-AFTRA national president Fran Drescher stopped off at multiple picket lines in New York on Thursday to rally the members of the guild as their strike continues. “I just want to say I am so grateful for your enthusiasm and your commitment to this strike,” Drescher told the pickets outside HBO’s New York offices. “It means everything.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Charades and UTA Independent Film Group have boarded “Mother, Couch,” the high-profile feature debut of Niclas Larsson, which has just dropped its first-look image, shared in exclusivity with Variety. An all-star cast is led by Taylor Russell, Ewan McGregor, Ellen Burstyn, Rhys Ifans, Lara Flynn Boyle and F. Murray Abraham and now Lake Bell.

It’s been 87 days since the writers hit the picket lines and 14 days since the actors joined them, yet the divisions between the guilds and the studios remain as deep as ever. 

Harrison Ford’s stunt double in Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny, set himself ablaze on Monday (July 24) during a demonstration in Atlanta, Georgia.The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) union went on strike earlier this month, after negotiations broke down with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) over streaming residuals and safeguards against AI technology.At the end of the rally, Massa took to the stage in a flame-covered jacket. In the video’s caption on Instagram, he wrote: “We are tired of being burned by the AMPTP.”A post shared by Elena Sanchez (@theelenasanchez)In a follow-up post, Massa added: “We wanted to make a statement and I think we did! It was great to see such a great turnout from our local stunt community, local leadership, and actors who showed up to support us.

With enough famous actors to populate an awards show all gathered on one stage, the labor union representing them in an “existential battle” against film and television studios held a star-studded strike rally in the middle of New York’s Times Square on Tuesday morning. 

SAG-AFTRA will hold a mass rally in Times Square on Tuesday morning. It’s expected to be the biggest rally in NYC since the strike began on July 14. Celebs scheduled to attend the “Rock the City for a Fair Contract” rally include Bryan Cranston, Steve Buscemi, Christian Slater, Lauren Ambrose, Christine Baranski, Matt Bomer, Tituss Burgess, Liza Colón-Zayas, Gregory Diaz, Jennifer Ehle, Nancy Giles, Danai Gurrira, Jill Hennessy, Marin Hinkle, Stephen Lang, Arian Moayed, Wendell Pierce, Corey Stoll and Merritt Wever.

America Ferrera gave us one of the most memorable moments in the new movie Barbie and you can read a transcript of her monologue right here!

It’s Day 11 of the SAG-AFTRA strike and Day 84 of the WGA strike.

SAG-AFTRA has granted more waivers in recent days that give permission to indie projects to shoot during the current strike, including the independent film The Summer Book starring Glenn Close. Other recent projects that will be allowed to shoot include the TV series Underdeveloped and Sight Unseen.

EXCLUSIVE: For those awards strategists wondering whether stars from indie U.S. films can promote at the fall film festival troika, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland says “We’re looking at that issue.”

It’s Day 8 of the SAG-AFTRA strike and Day 81 of the WGA strike.

channel your Ken-ergy and strap on your roller skates my babies, we’re in the midst of a Barbie summer.Greta Gerwig’s hotly anticipated fantasy comedy “Barbie,” premieres July 21 with Cancer queen Margot Robbie playing the titular role alongside Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, Emerald Fennell, America Ferrera, Will Farrell, Dua Lipa, Helen Mirren and Ryan Gosling as the hot, hapless, beach venerating, Ken.In honor of the film’s release and six decades of the doll’s domination we are taking a look at Barbie’s birth chart.Standing pert on tip toes with the modern equivalent of a Mona Lisa smile, Barbie, full name Barbara Millicent Roberts was introduced by Mattel Inc. at the American International Toy Fair in New York City on March 9, 1959.Fun fact; astrology applies not only to human beings but to global events, animals, the incorporation of cities, and the introduction of iconic toys.

Barbie’s America Ferrera recently revealed something that brings her joy — and it definitely threw fans for a loop.

EXCLUSIVE: There is no deal in sight for the writers and actors with the studios and streamers, but one of Hollywood’s consummate dealmakers was on the picket line today in New York City

It’s Day 5 of the SAG-AFTRA strike and Day 79 of the WGA strike. 

It’s Day 5 of the SAG-AFTRA strike and Day 79 of the WGA strike. 

proposed to use artificial intelligence to scan the faces of extras and use their likeness in perpetuity.On Thursday, the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) officially declared its intention to go on strike, with one of the many areas of concern for the union being the use of AI within the industry.During a press conference, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) had made a so-called “groundbreaking” proposal that, with the use of AI, would allow the likenesses of film and television background performers to be used indefinitely.Sharing his anger at the proposal on Twitter, Cusack said: “Studios wanna have extras work one day, scan them — own their likeness forever — and eliminate them from the business.“Do you think they will stop with extras? That’s what AI is — a giant Copywrite identity theft [and] criminal enterprise.”Studios wanna have extras work one day Scan them – own their likeness forever – and eliminate them from the business – & do you think they will stop with extras – ? That’s what AI is – a giant Copywrite identity theft – criminal Enterprise / we had no idea this would…— John Cusack (@johncusack) July 14, 2023“We had no idea this would happen… they will say in 10 years when the scope and scale of the plunder is revealed,” he added.

It’s Day 1 of the SAG-AFTRA strike and Day 75 of the WGA strike.